On Thursday, July 24th, Barack Obama stopped at the Kotel during his visit to Israel, and paying respects to the holy site, he placed a note in the wall, as is traditionally done. Not long after he left the Kotel, a Jewish seminary student snatched what he believed to be Obama’s note from the Wall, and then sent it to multiple media outlets for potential publishing. The note said: “Lord – Protect my family and me, forgive me my sins, and help me guard against pride and despair. Give me the wisdom to do what is right and just. And make me an instrument of your will.”

When I first heard about what the student did, I was outraged. Since I was at the Kotel just a couple days before this incident, the sanctity and importance of this site was fresh in my mind. Not only was it completely disrespectful of the student and Ma’ariv News for making the note known worldwide, but it also reflects badly on the Jewish people. Yes, it was the actions of one person, but as far as the rest of the world is concerned, the Presidential candidate was disrespected and humiliated by the Jews. Even with the apology made by the student days after, it was still a wrong and unecessary act, despite temptations provided by Obama’s celebrity.

There is no doubt in my mind that Obama was excepecting this kind of thing to happen, but maybe we could have proven him wrong?